sintaxei

Sintaxei is a fictional term used to describe a hypothetical framework for analyzing sentence structure. In this concept, syntax is modeled not as a set of movement rules or phrase-structure trees alone, but as a system of operators called sintaxei that directly manipulate syntactic units to build meaning. Each sintaxei operator specifies a local transformation, such as combining a head with a dependent, reordering constituents, or binding an argument to a thematic role. The composition of operators yields the surface form of a sentence and its dependency relations.

In the formal model, parse structures are represented as trees or graphs annotated with operator nodes. Evaluation proceeds by applying operators from the root downward, with scope and binding rules determining where transformations take effect. The approach emphasizes functional composition and locality, aiming to make the role of each operation explicit rather than relying solely on movement or hierarchical inheritance.

Origins and usage: The term appears in speculative linguistics discussions and in science fiction worldbuilding, where authors explore alternatives to mainstream syntax theories. It is not an established framework in academia, and there is little or no peer-reviewed research validating it.

Example: To render “The cat chased the dog” in sintaxei, an operator set first merges “the” and “cat” into an NP, then designates “chased” as the head and binds “the dog” as its object using a binding operator.

See also: Syntax; Transformational grammar; Dependency grammar; Conlang.